


Hunting for a Lost Smile

by 7dragons7



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-01
Updated: 2016-01-19
Packaged: 2018-04-12 11:45:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4478066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/7dragons7/pseuds/7dragons7
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>We owed everything to Rufus ShinRa. Every Turk. We all knew this. And we'd let him down a lot. Like, if the President was ever in danger of getting kidnapped you can sure as hell bet it was going to happen. So we stuck with him, continuing to try and do good by him. And because we wanted ShinRa to succeed. That was our home and our livelihood. It was important to all of us.<br/>But it was always one thing after another. The presidency of Rufus ShinRa was never going to be easy. Terrorists, Sephiroth, Weapon, Geostgma. It just wears on a person. It'd wear on any person. I bet most people would crack under that kind of pressure!<br/>But the fact of the matter remains that we're all only human. Despite no one ever seeing our President bleed or cry or do anything remotely human he still was just that. And that smile or more accurately that little smirk of his had faded away. Despite the road becoming, seemingly, much easier now it was gone.<br/>And I wanted to get it back. I had to do it. Just once I needed to do right by Rufus. Hell, we're shitty at keeping him safe from any kind of shit. But this, this I had to do and succeed at.<br/>If we lose Rufus ShinRa then that's just it for us. For the Turks. For me. For everyone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Reno's Recap

_Every Turk, around at the time or not, owed Rufus ShinRa. He saved us all, a long time ago, we wouldn’t be alive or employed if it wasn’t for him. It came at great risk to his own life. The President could have executed him, it was within his right. He could have fired him, demoted him… So much **could** have happened. Rufus may be lucky or just knew his father really well. Though him knowing his father even a little bit seems incredibly unlikely. _

_It’s easy to say now that the President wouldn’t have killed his son. Rufus wouldn’t have known that at the time. Rufus didn’t even know the pass codes to ShinRa were his birthday. Neither of those two men knew each other on any kind of personal level. And it’s interesting to think that the richest family in the world would be in complete turmoil. A neglecting cheating father and husband, a distant son and a mother that eventually… well. She’s gone and that’s all there is to say about that._

_Despite all that, my loyalty was to ShinRa. Or at least to the one that would eventually take over the ShinRa company. There was no denying that I loved my work and I found that great big company building my home. But as far as an alley at the end of the day… That was Rufus. A day would come when that kid inherited everything and it would be magnificent. He’d take the company in a brand new direction and I wanted to be there for it._

_I remember hearing that the President had been killed and I remember not feeling anything at all about it. I didn’t know the President all that well but I knew he was a dangerous man to cross and be around. And I knew that he was just a terrible person in general. No loyalties at all to those around him. He gave power and money to those around him and expected them to obey. That certainly worked but I didn’t care for that tactic. I’d seen what money could do and it wasn’t much. Money only bought loyalty for so long. You needed something else._

_After I’d been given word about the incident I made my way to the top floors to see the sight for myself.  It had been a gruesome sight even by my standards. Just a trail of blood coating the walls and the floor, as if someone had been dragged through each floor of the building. Whose blood was it? One person's or many? Well, the most important sight was the body of the president. No one had put a sheet over it or anything. It was just there, impaled, plastered against his desk for all to see. The blood had already dried, pooled around the chair and hard against the usually polished desk. I can remember it so clearly. I could only stare, entranced by the sight. I knew Rufus had been here earlier and got into a scuffle with Cloud. Dangerous… Cloud and his friends weren’t exactly pushovers. And even though the blond kid said he was ex-SOLDIER he didn’t really feel like it. All the same, he was kinda tough. And a new president and ShinRa’s future shouldn’t be off trying to fight a guy like that._

~~_I_ _f Rufus had been killed by Cloud that night..._ ~~

_And then Tseng said what I’d been thinking:_

“Has Rufus seen this yet?” Tseng asked, glancing at the board members.

“Not yet,” Reeve informed. “And he shouldn’t. Get this covered up at once. The President shouldn’t be seen this way, certainly not by his son.”

“You don’t give orders,” Heidegger growled, but made a movement for someone to go find something all the same. 

“What kind of president is Rufus going to be?” Scarlet questioned, stepping forward to examine the sword that had impaled her boss. 

“Impossible to say right this moment,” Heidegger huffed. “In any other situation I’d say we’re better off looking for new jobs. However…The terrorists escaped… and there is the issue with Sephiroth running amuck, as troublesome as all of this is, they’re the reasons why we’ll keep our jobs. Too much trouble to fire us all and deal with the situation at hand on his own. I hope it lasts a little longer so that we can show that we’re irreplaceable members to this company. Show him what his father saw in all of us. Rufus has been absent from this board table for a long time now. We know more than he does. Let’s gain favor and keep control of this company.” The bearded man reasoned with a small shrug. “So let’s not screw this up. Track Sephiroth. Get rid of that group of troublemakers.” 

Reeve nodded, finding himself agreeing with the man for once. It was only natural that Rufus, with a completely different view point from his father, would want them all gone as soon as possible. But with the chaos that was about it was unlikely that he could do anything just yet. All of them were in trouble. Yet he did disagree on one very important point. If Scarlet and Heidegger thought that Rufus was ignorant of the happenings in this company they’d be very wrong. He knew for a fact that Rufus had a hawk like gaze on all things that were transpiring here. He knew where the money was going and how it was being spent. How could Rufus know all of this? Through his many eyes and ears at the company that were insanely loyal to him since his house arrest in Junon. There was very little that Rufus didn’t know. Outsmarting him in that regard would be unwise. Rufus would take control of this company and at his earliest convenience remove those that still saw what his father had.

For his part, he’d show his loyalties to the knew president in a different way. ”I can do something about the group, Cloud and his friends. I need a little time but I’ll find a way to intercept them soon.”

“Good.” Scarlet stepped back at the sound of a helicopter landing outside, letting out Rufus, a little ragged looking and a bit worse for wear. That just meant the reports were correct about him and the blond swordsman having gotten into a small scuffle. A dangerous battle to partake in for what would happen to the company if Rufus was to fall? Certainly Rufus had his reasons for engaging in combat.

“He can’t come in here with his father like this,” Tseng warned. “Reno. Rude.” 

Rude was the first to move forward, already the closer one. Reno jogged to catch up with him.

“Sir.” Rude said quietly, as Rufus made to enter. “You don’t want to come in here.” 

“I do. You’re all standing around gawking over a corpse. Allow me to join you.” The blond then pushed his way through the two men and approached the group that had gathered around his father’s desk. Icy blue eyes glanced over the sight. The sword. The dried pool blood and the trails of it that led out of the office and through the halls of this building. “Hm.” he began, emotionless to the sight before him. “I was told that Sephiroth did this. Reports also say that Sephiroth is dead, or so the reports said five years ago... Does anyone here have the truth?” 

“Yes sir, we have been told this is the work of Sephiroth. We’re looking into what transpired with the incident regarding the man’s rumored death five years ago. Fortunately none of us were there at the time so it’s hard to say what happened then.” Scarlet informed the new president. “Oh and… my condolences for your loss.” She gestured towards the slain former president.

The new president’s gaze once again traveled over the sight and not a twitch or tremor gave away anything on what the young man was thinking or feeling. “Just get it cleaned up before it starts to stink.”  

“What would you like us to do about Sephiroth, sir?” Heidegger questioned. 

“We follow Sephiroth. That’s where Cloud and the others are going to do. We’ll get them all in one place. And with any luck, Sephiroth will lead us to the Promised Land.”

_Rufus was calm. Collected. Unnerved by his father’s body just lying there. Their relationship was strained at best. Understandably so. His father wasn’t exactly a good father or husband… Illegitimate children here and there, all of which Rufus was aware of to some extent. But Rufus was vice president and a good one at that, when he was allowed to do things. The president kept him in his position, kept him alive, because he knew while Rufus wasn’t loyal to him he’d be good once president. He’d be strong and cunning and able to overcome enemies should they come about. Rufus didn’t want the ShinRa name to fall he just wanted it in his own hands._

_I knew that he’d be able to do great things once the current mess was taken care of._

_It shouldn’t be that hard._

_But it was, it really was. More than any of us could ever imagine._

_Sephiroth was a terror running through the land and making his way up North. Hojo just up and left. Heidegger and Scarlet still held the past President’s agenda close to their hearts and were purposely setting Rufus back, unable to see to simple demands like getting an airship ready. Cloud and his gang were impossible to pin down and squash and Reeve was waffling in his own goals. The Ancient was killed. Tseng out of commission. It was a disaster. And even us, we were failing too. We had our new recruit, Elena, who was a bit more trouble than she was worth at the start but she’d learn the ropes. Now just wasn’t the time for all these foul ups but they were happening. And no matter how hard we tried we just couldn’t get Cloud and his friends down and out. They were strong and every time we ran across them there were more of them. Impossible and infuriating group they were. But they had guts and dedication and loyalty to_   _one another. There was something about them that made even Reeve turn his back to ShinRa._

_The tipping point was of course when the Weapons came from the earth and started tearing up shit. And Meteor too._

_A new president who’d just lost his father was dealing with one of the most powerful soldiers to ever walk this earth, a terrorist group, destructive forces from the earth itself and meteor which would wipe out all life. All of this while dealing with a very uncooperative board members each with their own objective._

_A nightmare for a new president. But Rufus stood up to it all. He captured two members of the terrorist group. Cloud was thought to be dead and that would be that. Rufus had a plan for the Weapons and for the Meteor. He was taking it all in stride. The issue of Sephiroth would come about soon too._

“The people are in a panic. It’s the end of the world for the most part so you have to make an example of them. Blame them for everything and then execute them.” Scarlet suggested. 

“The people need to see that someone is paying for these terrors that are unleashed upon the world.” Heidegger retorted, agreeing with the woman. 

“Who better than those that blew up the reactors and created chaos in Midgar?” 

“I’m not against punishing them in the future. And appeasing the people should be a priority. But killing them, as of right now, won’t solve anything. I don’t have time to think of public executions when there are things attacking the public. Put them away and when all this is over then we can do it. That will bring the people’s spirits up knowing that now that ShinRa has saved them, we’ll put down the people that caused it.” Rufus countered their wishes with his own. He really didn’t have time for such things. And he found it unnecessary. He didn’t particularly care to do things the way that his father had. And with so many threats he felt that putting one threat against the other was for the best. Let the terrorists and Sephiroth kill themselves, ShinRa would just clean up the rest. “No public executions. The girl isn’t even awake yet.” 

It was a whole board room against the president all but chanting death penalty at him and with so many issues at hand just letting them have their way was the best thing to do. But Rufus ShinRa was not one to bend the knee to those around him. Surely these people would never treat his father this way so they should show him the same kindness.

“Reno, Rude.” The president called the two Turks over once the two headaches from his office departed. “I need you two to start collecting information about Huge Materia. We’re going to need it.” 

“Yes sir,” 

“Reeve.”

“Sir?” 

“Your spy status with Cloud and the others has been compromised, correct?” 

Reeve pursed his lips together and nodded slightly. “Tseng informed you of this?”

“He did…” Rufus brushed back a few strands of hair. “Making enemies with my staff at this time is not something that I need right this moment. Killing people in this crisis is not what’s best either. ShinRa needs to remain in control but that- **tsk**. Public execution in this day and age.  _Barbaric_.” You could nearly hear the President’s teeth grinding together. “I need you to do something… but it’s of the utmost priority that it does not leave this room that it has been done.” 

“Sir..?” Reeve leaned in just the slightest bit, his brows furrowing just a bit. 

Icy blue eyes darted towards the Turks before turning back to the other man. Rufus could have asked them to leave. But there was this unspoken agreement between the Turks and Rufus ShinRa. Respect, gratitude… Rufus gave them all their lives and every Turk standing here knew of this. Whatever secrets Rufus was about to speak of they would keep.

“Not all of Cloud’s group has been captured, am I correct. There is more?” 

“Yes. Several more.” Reeve agreed. “You only have the two.” 

Rufus nodded. “Good. You need to get one of them to dress up as a soldier. Scarlet will try and execute the girl first. Without a doubt she will. She has all sorts of things but it will be the gas chamber. One of Cloud’s party members will lead her there. I’ll see to it. And he will drop a key that will get the girl out.”

“So, you’re allowing them to think you’re going through with it…” Reeve murmured.

“To keep the peace… yes. I need those two imbeciles to make something useful so I can take out these Weapons and get to Sephiroth… and destroy that damn rock in the sky. For now they’re still useful. But I am not having savagery in my presidency.” 

“So… we go through with this. We give the key to Tifa so she can at least unlock herself from the chair… then what? She’s still in the chamber. She can turn off the gas from there but she can’t get out.” 

“Scarlet wants a show. She’ll get the press there. You will have your cat there in disguise. Knock her out when it’s convenient. Free the girl and get them out of here.” 

“Alright. But… to get out of Junon safely they’re going to need something big.” 

“Your’e going to make the prez have an early stroke.” Reno said with a wicked smile. “You’re seriously asking for the airship?”

“It’s the only way.” Reeve insisted. “If you’re letting them go to deal with Sephiroth anyway and you intend to stay here and deal with Weapon it wouldn’t hurt to allow them to have it. It’s Cid Highwind’s ship anyway,” 

“I’ll think about that.” Rufus said with a slight huff. “While all of that is going on, Turks will be absent so that you can’t be sent to clean up the mess by Heidegger.” 

“You got it, boss.” Reno chirped, placing his hands on his hips. 

“The moment the girl wakes up this is likely to all take place. Be ready and everything said in here. Stays in here.” Rufus insisted, turning his back on the men within the room to look at a few documents on his desk. 

“Yes sir,” Reeve quickly strode out of the room to set plans in motion.

“Reno?” Rude asked, taking a few steps forward, intending to leave and pass the information on to the rest of the Turks. 

“Be right there, partner.” Reno assured, waving the man out. 

The other man gave a slight nod and departed, leaving only two within the room.

“What is it Reno?” Rufus asked, continuing to stare at the work on his desk. 

“I thought I’d offer you a drink but then reflected upon that possible request and decided to offer you a smoke instead.” 

Rufus stood up a bit straighter and glanced back at the red head. “Dare I ask the brand of either?”

Reno’s smile stretched wide. “You don’t want to know.”

The blond hesitated for a moment before shrugging and turning back to his work. “I’ll take a cigarette then.”

Fairly pleased, Reno dug into his pocket and pulled out the box. He tapped the bottom against his hand and and removed two sticks. One for himself and one for the young president, of course. He popped both in his mouth and lit them both at the same time.

Such actions did not fail to go unnoticed by the blond. “Reno…” he sighed as the stick was removed from the Turk’s lip and offered to him.

“Sorry. Turk thing… we just don’t give a shit usually. I can light you another one?” he offered, not that opposed to smoking two right this second. 

“It’s fine.” Rufus only grimaced slightly as he took what was offered. He took a couple of puffs, shaking his head slightly at it. “Don’t we pay you enough to get something better?”

“Yeah. But I like the cheap ones.” 

“But of course…” Rufus once more turned back to the paperwork awaiting him. But for all his huffing and puffing over the smoke the president flew through it, it was nearly nothing but ash before Reno had gotten halfway through his. Truthfully, Reno had offered the cigarette to see if the president would even take it and two how fast he went through it. You could see how stressed the young man was by how fast he blew through something that he normally detested. The fact that Rufus even accepted told him more enough to be perfectly honest. 

“Alright. Huge materia, right?” Reno questioned, pocking the box of smokes and making his way through the office. 

“Yes.” Rufus confirmed, his gaze remaining on his desk. 

“Gotcha. You can count on us. And don’t forget little prez… try to unwind. Even for a moment. I’d hate for you to die before the Turks settle their debts with you.”

_Freeing Tifa and the rest of Cloud’s friends was one of the only things that worked. But only because when Cloud did return they made our lives hell. Huge materia in a rocket blasted at meteor. Why the hell not? Sounded crazy but a good crazy. It would have been nice to actually have materia in the rocket when it hit the meteor. The rocket without anything did a good deal of damage. To have it full of materia too. I’m sure it would have done it._

_Despite that plan not working Rufus did manage to blow the head off a Weapon, so I heard. That was probably what prompted the cannon to go to Midgar. That’s where things started to get shitty. I remember so clearly those few moments. The canon charging up and turning the city completely pitch black. And then everything lit up again, a beam firing so fast and bright. They said later that it did kill another Weapon and it opened up the creator that leads to Sephiroth._

_Weapon had an attack of it’s own though. It fired and nailed the office of the president. It was a feeling of success with a feeling of dread and horror following right after. I’ve never felt anything like that before not even when the last President said we all needed to be executed._

_And to this day I couldn’t tell you why. I don’t know Rufus all that well. He’s got a lot of his father in him but a lot of what isn’t his father. I knew, had always known, that he’d be a good president. I still stand by that even if things hadn’t gone the way they had he’d still be good even if that meant not exactly good for the planet. Or maybe he would have been. What ifs are hard to truly determine. With his own staff and board members… who knows._

_But when I saw that office burst into flames… I knew that shouldn’t be the fate of Rufus Shinra._

_Rushing to find him was the best idea I’ve ever had. Rude noticing something with the wall was the next best thing._

“Good work.” Rufus called to them. He could make out the red hair for sure. So the other had to be Rude. Those two were always together…

“Boss,” Reno called, jumping into the room, and collecting the falling president. 

“Is he alive?” Rude questioned. 

“He’s just… asleep?” Reno confirmed, checking for a pulse. That seemed odd to the Turk. 

“This is a safety room.” Rude observed. “If he was hurt due to the explosion there may be medical supplies inside. If he pumped himself full of pain killers that would be the natural occurrence.” 

“Risky…” muttered Reno, pulling the president out of the room so Rude could carry him out. “What if we hadn’t got here? What if he hadn’t opened the door in time? He didn’t know if we were coming…” 

“Maybe he did.” Rude answered simply. 

“Maybe…” 

_I noticed Rufus was still himself after the assault on his office. And after the meteor was destroyed. After that… he was taken from us and it took us three long months to find him. Three. Three months in which the president was tortured, held at gun point multiple times and given the disease, geostigma. A painful ugly disease. And it was clear that the president had seen some shit during it all. He was different once returned to us and it didn’t go unnoticed._

_He was quieter and more thoughtful. Obviously there was a lot of just trying to get through the harder days when the disease was too much._

_But all in all, once we were in the resort and running the company from there things felt easier. Easy jobs. Less death. It wasn’t the ShinRa building but it was starting to feel a bit like home. The others that were there called us children, children pretending to run a company. Like we were playing a game. I could see how they saw that. It seemed a little silly. All of us in a resort, Rufus, Rude, Elena, Tseng and myself… all talking and waving about paperwork and discussing things. No desks, no office chairs. It was a struggle to hang on to a single pen or to find anything to write on but we made it work. And it was fun. It was._

_We were the President’s Turks and the board members he always needed. A shame Reeve didn’t want to hang out but he still stayed in contact with us. We all agreed that Mako wasn’t the solution anymore, even Rufus and so he helped fund other sources. No one knows he’s the one that’s funding most of this solution. Maybe Reeve does… But Rufus doesn’t really want Cloud and his friends to know. They probably wouldn’t like it or wouldn’t accept. And the last thing we want is confrontation with them. Rufus wasn’t strong enough for it._

_But more strife came regardless, though thankfully not really with Cloud. But with something a little worse. A silver haired trio full of crazy and Jenova cells. Once again Rude and I failed to protect the president and he fell into dangerous hands. At least he wasn’t tortured or harmed this time. At least I don’t think so. Rufus said he wasn’t..._

_He did fall off a building. I can’t even think about what would halve happened if Tseng and Elena hadn’t shown up. It makes me want to slam my head into a wall. He’d have been splat on the ground right in front of Rude and me._

“Nice catch you guys.” Reno called out, jogging towards the others.

“I was pretty nervous too,” Elena said with a small laugh, offering out a hand to the president so he could get out of the netting. 

“You Turks, always late. But thankfully… not _that_ late.” Rufus on fairly unsteady legs managed to plant his feet on the ground. Due to the disease he was too weak to stand for too long. 

“I’ll go find your chair, sir.” Tseng offered, glancing up at the building. 

“Man… I’d have loved to see that kid’s face when you had Jenova in his lap the whole time.” Reno said with a soft sigh.

Rufus’s lips quirked upward just a bit. “It was quite a sight.”

“Knowing you, you had to have had some parting words before he tossed you out the building.” 

“Of course. I told him... A good son would have known.” 

Reno let out a hardy laugh and clapped his hands together. “Perfect!”

“You two are terrible,” Elena said with a sigh, turning her attention to what was going on above. “I expect Cloud can take care of the rest…” 

“I imagine he can.” Rufus agreed. “But just in case… Reno. Rude. Help him out. One on three is terribly unfair. Make something loud happen.” 

The two men offered a smile. “You got it boss!”

Elena couldn’t help but smile just slightly as the two men ran off. Her attention quickly returned the the president. Worry showing in her dark eyes. “How are you feeling sir? You’ve had a lot of excitement the past few days. Have you been getting treatments? Are you in any kind of pain?” Since their company shrunk to just them in a resort area Elena had quickly gone from the rookie to the mothering figure of their organization. Always concerned and always looking after everyone. She’d had a lot of scares since joining. Almost losing her boss and Tseng. And then the company itself nearly falling into ruin. All she’d ever wanted to do was follow in her sister’s footsteps… and she was doing her best. Hopefully making her proud…

“I’ve got it, sir.” Tseng rolled up the chair as close as he was able, and then offering his hand as well so they could help sit the president down. 

It was certainly damaging to his pride to have to be handled like this… though it was nothing compared to being locked up and living in a cave, that was certain. He felt… tired in a sense and he didn’t think it was because of the sickness that was consuming his very body.

His melancholy attitude continued even after Reno and Rufus returned, happily sharing their small adventure with the silver haired men.

“You should have seen the explosion!” 

“I think i heard it!” Elena responded, babbling of all the fireworks and colors seen in the sky

Rufus smiled faintly. The Turks did love to talk about each and every thing they did no matter how small. And of course go over old victories as well. A rich history of violence and mayhem coated the history of their organization. He was glad to have them still at his side when everyone else was gone. There was no family left… and he sure as hell didn’t have one friend in the world having lost all those long ago and his house arrest for those few years didn’t exactly make him a guest at social organizations. Had the Turks decided to leave as well…

Well, he’d be dead, wouldn’t he? Them being here in the end only prolonged the inevitable. Everything that happened to him right down to him getting the geostigma was just karma–

“Rain?” Elena questioned, holding out her hand and catching a few drops. 

All gazes turned upwards, confused at the sudden bout.

“Feels different…” Rude insisted, looking over his injuries that were slowly healing. 

“A cure spell?” Reno questioned, noting the same thing was happening to him. 

“No… This is Aerith.” Tseng answered, a small smile appearing as he looked up at the sky. 

The three Turks turned to look at their boss a bit questionably. “How do you know?” the blond female questioned, a bit indignantly.

“I would know Aerith’s aura even after all this time. I was around her, even from a distance, for a long time.” 

“How is Aerith doing anything even remotely possible?” Reno questioned. 

“Her church is near by so maybe…” Tseng simply shrugged. “The girl had amazing healing powers.” 

Elena’s brows furrowed and she looked away and towards the president. “Oh sir… you’re going to get soaked out here. I can put something over–” The female turk stopped and blinked in surprised as her eyes looked over the president’s hand. One that was showing clear signs of the sickness or at least… had been. “Sir… Sir!” She smiled brightly and quickly knelt down to push up his sleeve.

“E-Elena!” Tseng called out, moving to stop her rampant assault. 

“No no! Look! It’s healing The disease is healing. This rain. Aerith… or whatever. It’s curing the geostigma!” 

“No shit,” murmured Reno.

Rufus looked over his hand and she appeared to be right. The evidence of the disease was fading away. He didn’t quite feel any different, not yet anyway. “Tseng. Elena… before this rain stops find away to capture it so that those that haven’t been out in the rain yet are able to be cured.”

“Yes sir!” the said in unison, quickly sprinting off to do just that.

“It’ll look pretty good if ShinRa can offer a cure for the disease to those that missed this little shower.” Reno mused. “Good call, boss.”

“Yes…” Rufus answered quietly. “We should head back. And when you two get a chance try to help Elena and Tseng.”

“Rude can do that now. It only takes one to get you back. And hopefully… all the crazies have been put down.”

Rude offered a nod and followed his colleges or at least headed in the same direction and Reno took the handles to the wheelchair pushing it slowly before picking up enough speed that he could put both his feet on the bar below and ride on the back a bit. Thankfully he wasn’t too heavy otherwise the whole thing would tip backwards and that would be awkward and a bad time for the President.

“I guess now… we can start rebuilding ShinRa.” he mused to fill in the silence of the quiet President. “That’ll be nice. Another huge building. I miss the old one still. That was home. Never had a home before but that… that was it. And I hope Cloud and the others don’t give us trouble about it. Not like we’re trying to do stuff with Mako. And with all the money you’re putting in for new forms of energy…” Reno nodded, continuing to fill the air. “I’ll talk to Tifa in her bar tomorrow and get her on board. Think she likes me. Wonder if I can score a few drinks…”

“Tifa…” the president murmured. “When I’m feeling better, I too would like to talk to her.”

“Oh yeah?” Reno asked, glancing down at the blond. “That might be tricky… I think she wants to punch you in the face. And you probably shouldn’t take her punches lightly. She specializes in that thing. It’s crazy. When I think about how she just laid it on me when we met up… Well. If you do go one day, Rude will probably want to go too. I think he still has a crush on her. Crazy stuff. She’s obviously sweet on Cloud. Who is still sweet on Aerith…? Even though she’s dead. But Aerith only liked Cloud because of this guy that Tseng once knew? Zaaaack?” Reno scrunched up his face struggling to remember the drama in the ring of friends he wasn’t even a part of. “I don’t know. Crazy. It’s all crazy. Glad we have it nice and simple here. Elena likes Tseng. Tseng likes Aerith. Rude likes Tifa. Its’ all unrequited and everyone is miserable. It’s perfect.” To his surprise that through all his babbling the president offered the slightest huff of laughter. He was actually listening to all this and enjoying it a bit. Well, that shouldn’t be that big of a surprise. During this time together he’d learned that Rufus was always listening even passerby conversation. Every detail was put to memory. And he even found some things funny. Never outright laughter but the slight puff here or there was appreciated.

“And what of you Reno…? You left yourself out of that little list.”

“Me? Me! I like everyone. Always have. Always will. Even Yuffie. I saved her life once.”

“Unfortunate.”

“Yeah…” Reno let out a laugh. Mostly because he didn’t think Rufus was all that aware who Yuffie was. The simple statement was funny all the same to him.

He wondered if all these smiles and good times would disappear when ShinRa was once more on its feet. He hoped not… They’d become a tight knit group, the five of them. The Little Devils. That’s what people called them and he really loved that name. It was fitting. He hoped they’d always stay together. Even if all the fun missions and jobs with the Turks had to end so they could be  closer to Rufus and help him… he’d do it. He just wanted this, whatever it was that they all had to last and last.

* * *

 

_Rufus was--_

"Reno." 

Rude's voice caused the red head to look up from his writing. "What's up?" 

"We have to keep watch. What are you doing?" The Turk adjusted his sunglasses, making a move to try and peek at what the red head was writing. 

"Nothing! Just jotting some shit down. One too many hits in the head, trying to keep a memory of all the good times." He smiled brightly, folding up the random sheets of paper and shoving them into his inner jacket pocket. 

"Hm." Was the other's reply for a moment as he thought over this strange statement. "Well. Stay focused. We're heading out tomorrow. Rufus want to speak to those who are looking for new sources of energy." 

"That's... that's one of Cloud's friends whose leading that expedition, right?" Reno wrinkled his nose and pushed himself up to follow after the other. 

"That's right. He's doing something the boss doesn't agree with, so he wants to have his say." 

"Oh fucking-" Reno rubbed his head, feeling a fight in the future. Not a single one of Cloud's friends were going to give a shit about what Rufus had to say on the matters of energy. But Rufus wouldn't be sticking his nose in this if he didn't have a good read. For the past few months he'd been having them run to the old ShinRa building's library to get old documents and books. All of that shit was taking up a big part of their little resort room. But Rufus was hunting for information about something or other. He was getting reports from Reeve, since he was funding the whole hunt for new energy but that wasn't likely to make anything better in the least. 

"I am not in the mood for getting my ass kicked by Cloud and friends tomorrow," the red head whined. 

"Yeah... but we'll be close by Tifa's bar after, so it'll be alright." 

It took a lot of strength and self control not to punch his partner right then and there. 


	2. A Turk Until You Die

“Well look what rat crawled out of the gutter! I can’t believe what I’m seeing with my two eyes. I had hoped I’d never see you again.” 

“I wouldn’t argue that the feeling is mutual.” Rufus answered taking a seat at the rickety and grungy looking meeting table. 

This place was the pits, Reno noted, feeling antsy without any weapons on him to protect the president. It wouldn’t be so bad if the guy in charge didn’t have a huge ass gun attached to his arm. Rufus said it was okay though so… 

“So what is it that you want?” Barret demanded, taking a seat as well, making sure his gun arm was resting on the table and in plain view of everyone in attendance. 

“I wanted to discuss your recent discovery. Oil, was it? That’s quite a find.” 

“I imagine Reeve told you that we had found something? Still a damn spy--” 

“He did.” Rufus quickly interjected. “It’s all well and good that you have found a replacement to mako energy. But you would need a company to back it. Someone with money at least to help you get it out of the ground, refine it and turn it into usable energy. It’s not an easy or cheap process.” 

“I suppose you think you’re that guy?” scoffed the gunmen, shaking his head. “Unbelievable.” 

“I am a president of an electric company. I know how these things work.”

“I’m not letting you within teen feet of this find. You can piss off. We’ll find a way to make it work. We have funders.” 

“You do.” Rufus admitted. “These are them, are they not?” Rufus held out his hand to Rude who passed a vanilla folder that was completely filled with documents and notes. The blond gently set the heavy item on the table and opened it. The first page was exactly what he needed. A detailed list of all of the funders for this mission. All but one or two were highlighted. He slid over the sheet to the other. 

“You bastard… yeah. This is them. What are you going to do? Blackmail them all?” 

“Unnecessary. Every single one of those highlighted people doesn’t actually exist. They are a made up human being I created to help fund your efforts. And they did not go wasted. You’ve made a wonderful find. So when Reeve informed me of the oil I went and did some research of my own. I wanted to make sure that our new source of fuel would be one that could be used without devastating consequences. I refuse to repeat the mistakes of the past. I don’t care for them in general and I am not about to make them twice. Oil, is incredibly efficient but… it comes with many more cons than pros.” Rufus slowly pushed himself up, his legs not quite in full form since recovering from the sickness, and began pushing over documents and notes that he had made over to Barret. “I have listed all the books I used for this research on each sheet as well, in case you don’t care to take my word for it.” 

“ShinRa books are full of shit.” Barret muttered, pushing away the documents immediately. 

“Very well.” the president brushed aside the slight. “Then surely the observatory in Cosmo Canyon would have better information? I have not been able to get there myself due to health strains but you are welcome to do some research of your own. I’ll list some bullet points for you though. Oil is a limited resource and once it’s gone, it is gone. It takes millions of years, perhaps more, to create. We can use it but we’ll be in the same position maybe a hundred years from now. Maybe less or maybe a little more. Not to mention the amount of pollution that goes into creating any kind of energy with it is astronomical. Far more devastating than mako… and that is saying quite a bit. Oil, is quite similar to Mako, actually. If Mako is the blood of the planet than oil is the bone marrow. We can’t use it. It’s repeating history.” 

“Assuming you're right.” growled Barret, pulling some of the sheets back over to him. “What do you suggest?” 

“I’m glad you asked. It’s something the world has plenty of to spare.” Again from his folder Rufus pulled out more documents. “Sunlight and wind and perhaps even water. With ShinRa’s funding we could build these things to harness energy and use that instead of a resource from the planet itself.  There would be lots of jobs to go around to build these things and to run them. Windmills, solar panels and perhaps dams could all be built.” 

“And I take it you want to run all this then? That’s what you get out of it?” 

“ShinRa is the electric company of this world. Our name has been dragged but we are not untrustworthy in the eyes of many people. No one has the money we have. You can take all my plans and attempt this yourself without my money and we’ll see how far you get. I can do this on my own but it would be easier with your people and your names. It would help move the process along.” 

“You’re doing it for you. Not for the planet and not for the people. This is all so you can be number one again.” 

“I hardly see how motivations matter if everyone is helped in the end? Are you claiming to be nobler than I. When you blew up the reactors were you thinking of yourself and your own goals or of the people of the world, including the lives lost in the explosions?  My fights have never been less than yours. We were fighting the same monsters; Weapon and Sephiroth. The  exact same enemies but we had different ways. How is your cause constantly better than my cause? Is it because I have money? Status? I am curious. Am I not funding your explorations around this world to find a cause to help everyone. It’s not just because I want to control it but because I am the best man for the job. You curse ShinRa for mako useage? There was no possible way to predict the future and realize that mako was a terrible thing at the time. It was a source to make people’s lives better. Surely you were once believed that long ago, that Mako was a good thing? We all did. And there are surely better ways to get your point across than blowing up homes and slaughtering the innocent. ShinRa’s past is dark and bloody. The Turks that stand behind me can attest to that ten fold. But I am not my father. Nor will I ever be. I have only ever been fighting the same battles with you. Even if you opposed me as well. And if we look back… your past is no cleaner than mine. Innocent blood is on both our hands.” 

“You’re so full of shit. You’d have us all killed the moment it was convenient. You act like you didn’t have Tifa locked up in a gas chamber. Not a one of you ShinRa shit heads can be trusted and I’ll be damned if I ever let you take control of another electric company.” 

“I see. Then we have reached an impasse. As you must now understand, you will not be receiving another cent of funding until you see things a bit more on my level. I can do this on my own, without you. It’ll just take longer. But without my money… well. Nothing will ever get done on your end.” Rufus shrugged a bit, and brushed a fear stray bangs behind his ear. “I’ll be departing then. Perhaps I’ll hear from you soon?” Rufus reached for the much lighter envelope and handed it back to Rude before swiftly turning on his heel and departing from the tiny meeting room. 

It was hard to tell exactly what Rufus was feeling, it always was. But it was hard to believe he wasn’t feeling a bit irritated from all of that. At least he didn’t look it like Elena did. Her cheeks were rosy and eyes glassy. It looked like she’d wanted to say something a dozen times in that meeting room. Hell, he didn’t blame her… he’d felt the same way. 

“I’ll fly us back.” Tseng informed, the only one with a cool head to do so. Reno silently thanked the other for that. Being pissed and flying never worked out well, he could attest to that. And of the four, Tseng was always the most level headed. They’d just pile into the helicopter and head back to their resort. 

“Tseng.” Reno flipped on his headset so that the other could hear him. “Everyone could probably use a drink.” 

There was some slight hesitation from the other. “I suppose. Where did you have in mind?” 

“The usual.” Reno answered, a slight smirk appearing. 

“I find that to be a terrible idea.” 

“Not at all. Maybe it’s time to set the record straight at long last.” 

Reno could nearly hear the wheels in the other’s head turning from over the mic before Tseng finally relented. “Just one or so. We have the boss with us…” 

“Nothing to worry about.” Reno tossed the headset aside and grinned at his gloomy fellow passengers. “Good news. We’re going to Seventh Heaven for a little off duty relaxing time.” 

“Reno!” Elena nearly shrieked. “It’s not off duty if the president is with us! And really? Seventh Heaven? As if the president needs to hear more of that nonsense!”   

“Elena, you’re much too high strung to be a Turk sometimes. Just relax.”

The president was surprisingly silent not agreeing or dismissing the plan of having a drink or two. If Reno didn’t know any better he’d think the blond just wasn’t listening, but he knew that wasn’t true. Rufus was always listening. Always putting to memory the smallest details. He might just not care that they were going out for a drink or perhaps he was thinking about what to say to Tifa, if anything. He had said wanted to speak to her…

* * *

“You guys think you can just waltz in here after what I just had to listen to on the phone.”

“Come on, Tif, you love it.” 

The pale dark eyed beauty behind the bar offered the red head a smirk. “There is nothing to love about Barret losing his damn mind. You’re lucky he isn’t stopping by, I don’t allow fighting in my bar.” 

“We’d never. I brought the whole gang along, if you don’t mind.” 

“Your money is as good as everyone else’s.” She answered pulling out the four glasses.

“One short, Tif. I said the whole gang…” 

She froze for a moment, slowly looking up as the rest of the Turks piled in and picking up the rear was none other than the president himself. Truthfully, she hadn’t seen him since the day he’d tried to execute her. She’d been aware he was around but… 

“What’s he doing here?” 

“Come on Tif--” 

“You got a lot of nerve coming into my bar.” Swiftly the bartender moved around the bar and made her way right to the president. 

“I suppose you want an apology?” he questioned, gazing down on her. “I’m afraid I don’t have one.” 

“Tifa wait,” Elena attempted to reason over the sound of the woman’s knuckles cracking. 

“You are some piece of work.” Tifa muttered bringing back her hand before reeling it back around as fast and as hard as she could. But it didn’t connect. The woman stopped herself just before the president’s jaw and gently tapped him. “I’d have said gotcha… but you didn’t even flinch.” She smiled up at the blond and gently tapped his jaw again with his fist. “Guess all those crazy rumors are true. Though, if I’d hit ya, I’m sure I’d have seen some blood. Come sit down. I have some pretty good stuff, you might even like it.” 

“Fuck Tifa.” Reno rubbed his forehead. “I need a warning before you mess with the boss.” 

The bartender laughed. “I didn’t see one of you move to stop me.” 

“No fighting in the bar.” Rude noted. 

His words got a laugh from the dark haired girl and she poured him his drink first. “Well. I suppose if I didn’t know the truth, I’d have socked ya. But you wouldn’t have come in here if you’d actually done something.” 

“So you know?” Elena asked, taking a small sip of her strong drink. 

“Mhmm.” Tifa answered. 

“From Reeve?” Tseng questioned, declining an alcoholic drink. 

“Actually no. I got the finer details from him, but I got the whole story from the one who dressed up like a guard and saved me. Vincent.” 

“The former Turk.” Tseng smiled and nodded a bit. “Very nice.” 

Tifa beamed brightly. “He told me he saved me. It was some big plot. I learned, probably too late, about all the strife within the ShinRa headquarters. I guess we never really thought about all of that at the time. We were never really given a chance to sit and kinda think about things and figure out how to get who on our side. Barret is so strong willed and thick headed and so against ShinRa it might not have mattered. After all, we had Reeve on our side and he complained about it the whole time. We could have done a lot more more efficiently if we’d been on the same side. I think so anyway. Reeve explained all the politics to me and I really felt like I understood ShinRa a bit better. Understood all of you a lot better. It’s why I told Cloud to go see you guys when you called that one time.” The Bartender rocked on her heels a bit. “And… when Barret called me about your new plans I told him it was a great idea.” 

“No shit.” Reno muttered. 

“Yeah. ShinRa is a legacy. Or trying to preserve its current state. And it doesn’t want to be remembered as an atrocity. There is no reason now why there would be any underhandedness. I told him, Rufus is the kind of person you can trust in this situation. If we had used the oil his money would have made the process possible. But if he says it’s a bad idea a hundred years from now, he’s probably right. He want’s ShinRa to last hundreds of years after all! His plan doesn’t hurt the planet and is probably something to look into. That’s what I told him. He’s angry but… he’ll probably go to Cosmo Canyon and read some things. Fact check your work, Rufus. You’ll hear from his soon, I think. I also told him, just because ShinRa would be in charge doesn’t mean we have no say. There is no shame in working for ShinRa. I know the idea leaves a bad taste in his mouth. It doesn’t make me feel too great either, to be quite honest. But... “ Tifa nodded. “It’s a new start for everyone. I’ll do some more convincing if I need to. But you have my vote. I think, in some sense… I should say thank you to you guys? When you we weren’t fighting each other we were fighting the same enemies. Your canon broke open the cavern for us… and you took out a Weapon or two…  Stopping the meteor and Sephiroth… that’s thanks to you guys too. So… thank you.” The bartender took a deep breath and offered them all a smile. “Feels good… to say all that. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get a chance.” 

“Coulda just told us, Tif. Woulda passed the message along to Ruffie. He could have used some cheering up when he was sick.” 

“That’s right.” Concerned chocolate eyes looked back to the president. “You got sick too, right? How did that happen? And you’re cured now, right? I think I heard that ShinRa was passing out cures.” 

The young president nodded a bit, taking a sip from his drink. “I am fine now. The recovery process has been lengthy but all will be well in time, I believe. As for how I caught it... “ The blond shook his head a bit, noting that the eyes of the Turks were on him as well. They’d never learned how it came about either. Just that Rufus had been healthy and three months later he’d caught it. 

“I don’t even know how you got out of the building… Reeve didn’t know how either.” Tifa murmured, leaning in a bit. “I saw your office explode…” 

Rufus shifted in his seat a bit at the sight of her doe like eyes filled with curiosity. He’d seen her several times throughout their meetings and confrontations. Always worn from traveling and fighting. But her eyes always held the same peculiar light when looking at him… something he could never place. “I suppose… I’ll start from the very beginning then.” Rufus cleared his throat a bit. “When I was just a boy my father showed me the blueprints of the future ShinRa building that he was building…” 

* * *

It wasn’t one of the heavy drinking Turk nights, as it would normally be at Tifa’s bar. Not with the president there. Instead it was filled with lots of talk of the past. Stories from each of their respectable battlefields. There was talk of early Turk days and how they each owed our lives to their boss. That’s why they were all still there and Tifa revealed some secrets to them as well. Like the mysterious Cloud and that insanity. How she’d been there when Sephiroth supposedly died and she even let them peek at the scar from the most dangerous blade this world has ever seen. Everyone learned a lot about each other. Tifa already seemed to see them from a more reasonable standpoint, thanks to Reeve. But hopefully tonight had helped. She’d be an important voice for them to have if they were to rebuild ShinRa.

“I guess you’d put your new ShinRa building somewhere in Edge, right? I can’t think of a good place right now. You could probably put it on the outskirts and the city would form around it.” She shrugged a bit.

“Well, Tif, we gotta put it close to your bar.” Reno offered the bartender a wink as he took a long sip of his whisky. 

“Oh, I’m sure.” she laughed, sliding down a mug down the bar to some other thirsty customers. 

“It won’t be a big building.” Rufus interjected. “We can rent out a simple building and operate from there.” 

Reno showered the bar in alcohol and spit in surprise and Elena almost dropped her glass upon hearing those words. 

“Woah, really? No more military or… jeeze, everything that ShinRa once was?” Tifa asked, wiping up the red head’s mess.  

“The Junon military is more than enough and they have someone more than capable of managing that. ShinRa is just an electric company. That’s enough.”

“I suppose it is…” she agreed, smiling a bit. “I’m glad… I’m really glad that’s your decision. I suppose an office building will seem like your old place after working in that resort.” She laughed softly, stepping away from them for a moment to take other orders and talk with some of the others for just a bit. 

Reno wiped his mouth on his sleeve for a moment, taking in this information. He had just believed them to slowly return to what they once were. But that was never Rufus’s intention… Obviously he wasn’t going to build the scummy empire his father had but… 

“I understand… that once restoration is complete and the new energy source up and running that you will find yourselves in vastly different job positions than the ones you were originally hired for. But you are the only people I trust… and you would still be protecting me. But if that is not what you are interested in there would be no hard feelings if you wished to depart. I understand that the lives we live now, are trying… and that won’t last forever but what you all originally did is obsolete. If you do wish to depart after my energy plans go through that is fine but I do request if you stay till then. I will compensate all who wish to leave well if you stay till that time.” 

“S-sir…” Elena began before trailing off. 

“Come along now. The bar is getting busier and we should depart.” 

Tseng once again took the pilot seat as he’d refrained from drinking and flew them all back to their temporary home at the resort. The ride back was silent but this time uncomfortably so. At least they’d had a good time at the bar… Tifa was on their side which seemed like an exceptionally good thing. She knew that they hadn’t tried to really kill her and she supported their future plans. There wasn’t really anything to be upset about. 

So what… Rufus wasn’t making a huge empire like his father had. That was probably a good thing. There was some sadness within the Turks that had called the original building home but… this was probably better right? 

“Can’t sleep partner?” Reeve questioned, glancing back at his old friend who’d joined him outside in the dead of night. Everyone had silently turned in for the night but he was too restless to sleep. Seemed Rude was the same way. “Want a smoke…?” 

“No.” 

Expected. “What’s on your mind?” 

“You’re staying, right?” 

“Course I am.” Reno snorted. “I can’t believe Ruffie thinks we wouldn’t. I’m here till I die. No leaving the Turks unless you’re killed, right?” 

“Seems that proposition is highly unlikely now.” 

“Who knows. People would still like to see Rufus dead.” 

“Hn.” 

“We’re all staying. Big building or a small building that’s not the shit that matters…And maybe that’ll all change. Can’t say you’re going to rebuild an empire after all that’s happened. Takes time. Who knows what Rufus is really thinking.” Reno argued. 

“I find myself thinking what our situation would be if we hadn’t lost him for those three months. If he hadn’t gotten sick…” 

The redhead turned to his friend seriously. “That’s the worst thing you can think about… Can’t change the past so don’t think about it. What’s done is done.” 

“You’d argue he’s drastically different, would you not?” 

“He’s seen some shit. He’d been through some shit. Maybe I’d be different too if I’d gotten that soul sucking sickness. And when ShinRa is stable he’ll be his old self again and maybe everything will be like it used to be.” 

Rude shook his head. “Things are never going back to the way they used to be. I think, we should accept that for his sake. Rebuilding ShiRa… no, a  _ new  _ ShinRa.” 

“A new ShinRa, huh…” Reno shrugged turning back around, his brow furrowing. “I’ll call it whatever he wants. It doesn’t matter. It’s a home and a paycheck. I’m always in. Being a Turk was fun. Ain’t going to lie. All the missions and blood… you and me fucking shit up. It was the best. But I can live a more regular life. For him.” 

* * *

“SIR,” Elena’s voice cracked and what felt like a few octaves higher than normal. She slammed down the president’s breakfast of scrambled eggs in front of him.

Piercing blue eyes glanced up at her curiously. “Elena…?” 

“While I can’t speak for the rest of my comrades… I can at least speak for myself when I say that I do not intend to go anywhere. And I also wish to express that I was mildly offended and perhaps a bit hurt that you would think after all this time I would split because what the Turks do is changing. We were picked up for our skills in certain areas and we are still here for those abilities and they can perhaps be of use to us in the future. This is my home. If it’s the old ShinRa building, the new one or this resort. This is my job. And all of you are my family. And you’re all important to me. I will stay no matter what happens. If... that’s alright with you, sir…”

“I do believe Elena speaks for all of us, in this case, sir.” Tseng began with a slight smile, setting the president’s coffee beside his plate in a much more gentle manner and gently moved the near hysterical member away from the president. “The new direction for ShinRa will be a welcome change.” 

“Yeah, we ain’t going anywhere. You’re stuck with us for life. You’re a Turk till you die, after all.” 

Rufus nodded slightly at their words. His expression didn’t change at all though. Not a smirk or anything haughty. Just... a nod. “Very good then.”

It was there and then that Rude’s words came back to Reno. If he hadn’t gotten sick and was lost to them for so long… He had just assumed that the sickness was what had caused the president to behave this way. It was painful and awful thing to deal with every waking day. And with the after effects of nearly being incinerated by Weapon had it’s own weight on you. But maybe… maybe it was just so much more than that. Something aside from the physical… He’d never thought of something deeper than the skin might be an issue. Something internal. In the head… and heart even. Hell, the president seemed worse since being cured. And Reno didn’t know any potions or spells that would help a problem like that. 

How do you help someone who was sick in a way where medicine isn’t an option? 

Was it possible for the president to ever get better? Was this only a passing thing or would it be like this forever? In the meeting room room with that guy Barret he’d seen the old president. But that had gone the moment he stepped out of that place.

This wasn’t the first time he felt like he was facing an impossible foe. He’d been against Cloud and the near destruction of the world. That was stuff you could see. But this foe… this had no form or body. It wasn’t a thing you could tackle with any kind of force. So he felt… lost. 


End file.
